


One to Speak and Another to Hear

by Chicklet_Girl



Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-31
Updated: 2010-03-31
Packaged: 2017-10-08 13:49:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/76279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chicklet_Girl/pseuds/Chicklet_Girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes you can hear what isn't being said, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One to Speak and Another to Hear

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from Henry David Thoreau: "It takes two to speak the truth – one to speak and another to hear." I wrote this for Session 4, Round 4 of NCIS Last Fic Writer Standing. The prompt required a gen story that included a situation in which a character would be dependent on one sense, instead of the usual five. This story was awarded Mod's Choice for the round.

"Timothy, my boy, it's Ducky." Ducky's voice is just _there_ coming from nowhere, while Tim is floating in the darkness. "I need to tell you where you are and what has happened. You're in Bethesda Naval Hospital. A suspect threw acid on you at the munitions plant you and the team investigated today. Luckily, Tony was able to get you into a safety shower nearby and that prevented the burns from being more severe. Unfortunately, a small amount of the acid reached your eyes, and despite Tony rinsing them, there may be some scarring on your corneas. We won't know for several days whether there will be any visual impairment." Ducky pauses, and Tim doesn't feel anything. No pain, nothing. "You are in a drug-induced coma, most likely for one or two days. There are several blisters on your arms and chest from the acid burn, and they need to be decompressed and debrided, which is quite painful. And your eyes have been taped closed, to protect the corneas while they heal. The doctors felt that between the challenges of pain management, and to keep you from becoming agitated, that the coma was their best option."

Another pause, and then there's the sound of Ducky pulling over a chair and sitting down. "Of course, I don't know if you can hear us, or if you will remember what we said once you wake, but I prefer to err on the side of positivity. Your situation is most dreadful, Timothy, and I'm very sorry. I imagine you'll hear our voices quite a lot over the next couple of days. I hope you don't get sick of them. I remember a teacher I had in school, Mister Chumley, worst voice you could imagine. Rough, gravelly. Naturally, he chose to be a literature instructor…."

*****  
"McGee. It's me. Ziva." Which Tim had figured out already, but… whatever. "I cannot stay long. I believe I am not supposed to be here at all, actually, but I thought you would like to know that we have enough evidence to charge Cooper with the bombing. Abby was able to hock into his computer after we got the warrant." _Hack_, Tim thinks. _Not hock._ Tim hears a couple of beeps, like Ziva's getting a text. "Yes, I have to go now. Be well, Tim."

*****  
"Tim, oh my God! I can't even believe this! Ohh." She sounds frustrated. "I shouldn't be holding your hand, even though it's all bandaged and I've got gloves on. They're black gloves, I got a shipment of them by mistake. They're pretty cool." Tim honestly can't feel her holding his hand. He can't feel anything, which is weird, but he also doesn't really care about it. He may have to use this for a book. He listens to Abby dragging over the chair and sitting down. He hears leather creaking, so she must be wearing her over-the-knee boots. She looks really good in those.  
"Did you hear what happened? No, of course you didn't. Okay, so at the plant, after Cooper threw the acid on you, Tony hauled you over to the safety shower, and Ziva and Gibbs took off after Cooper. Ziva was faster, so she got to him first, and I guess she really beat the hell out of him before Gibbs could pull her off, because she got suspended 'pending an inquiry,' which I think is bogus, because he might have killed you, not to mention the people who were killed and hurt in the bombing at the base. Anyway, Ziva can't be in the office or even here, because you're connected with the case, but I helped her sneak in this morning, and warned her when the guard was coming back. Yeah, you're under guard, it's kind of exciting. Fornell is calling Cooper a domestic terrorist and fighting with the Director to get the case transferred to the FBI, in case Cooper's part of an organized group, and Gibbs can't do any questioning until the jurisdiction stuff is figured out, so he's just staring at Cooper in the interrogation room, like he wishes he could kill him with his eyes. We've got him, Tim."

He hears some rustling, and something being placed on the table next to his bed. "Ducky said I should bring something that relaxes you, like music, but I couldn't think of what to bring. And then I thought of this!" There's a click, and then… the sound of a manual typewriter, like the one he has at home. It's not the rat-a-tat sound of a speed test. It's the sound of someone typing a letter, or a manuscript, filled with stops and starts, little bursts of speed followed by long pauses. "I found it online, and then I made a loop." And it _is_ relaxing, like when Tim is really in the groove on one of his books. Only Abby.

*****  
"Hey, McGee." It's Tony, and he sits down right away. Everyone else tends to stand for a few minutes, like they're pretending they're just stopping by. "The doctors told me you're doing better, but they're keeping you in the coma for now. Vance worked out a deal with the FBI that Gibbs could interrogate Cooper, but if Cooper was connected with a group, then Fornell's unit would take over the case. Well, of course, Cooper caved after about five minutes in the box with Gibbs, and the FBI's taking over the case because Cooper started listing off names like he was reading the phone book. It's probably for the best, considering the beat-down Ziva gave Cooper. It's going to look better for the FBI to be bringing charges instead of NCIS."

There's some shuffling and the sound of a heavy zipper. Tim thinks it might be from Tony's backpack. Tony sighs. "I hope you learned an important lesson from this, Probie: Always let the Senior Field Agent go in first." Which wouldn't have made a difference, and Tim knows it. Gibbs directed them before they opened the door to the manufacturing floor: Gibbs to the right, Tim to the left, and Ziva and Tony to center-right and center-left. Textbook stuff. It was pure chance that Cooper was holed up in a supply closet on the east side of the room, where Tim went. There's no blame to be assigned to anyone but Cooper.

Tim hears Tony uncap a bottle of water. "So, I thought to myself, what would the Elf Lord like to hear while he's in this coma? And then it occurred to me: _The Lord of the Rings_!" His voice becomes lower and closer, like he's leaning in. "Don't tell anyone, but I read the books before I saw the movies." Tim hears pages rustling. "Wow, there's a lot of introductions and prefaces here. You're not _that_ much of a nerd. Okay, here we go. 'When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton….'"

*****  
"McGee, it's Gibbs." Why does everyone think he can't tell them apart? Gibbs's voice is soft, but intense, like his face is right next to Tim's head. "In a few minutes, they're going to take you out of the coma. They've already debrided the blisters, but there could be quite a bit of pain, so do whatever you have to. You won't be able to see anything, because they've still got your eyes taped shut. But I'll be right here. Once you've been awake for a few hours and they've got your pain under control, they'll check out your vision. And remember: You're going to be fine. Consider it an order." Tim takes that in, lets the ventilator take a few more breaths for him. And then he tries to brace himself.


End file.
